Charlottetown – When you leave a relationship, what should you expect for child support and spousal support? What questions should you ask if you meet with a lawyer? What documents should you be sure to pack before you leave? What steps can you take to protect your privacy and safety? These are the kinds of questions answered in Moving On: A Practical Guide for Women Leaving a Relationship, published by the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

“Moving On is our most-requested resource,” says Advisory Council Chairperson Diane Kays. “Over the years, this booklet has helped hundreds of people looking for practical help at a difficult time. When relationships break down, gender inequalities are sometimes more obvious and deeply experienced.

Kays continues, “We have had this guide in print for more than a dozen years, with updates every few years. The new edition is the most readable, useable, and comprehensive guide yet.”

The Advisory Council on the Status of Women turned to Vice-Chairperson Kelly Robinson, an expert on public legal education with the Community Legal Information Association, to update the guide in 2013. For the first time, Moving On includes sections for Aboriginal women and for newcomers to Canada and has tips for Internet privacy and safety. Like past editions, this new version of Moving On features original drawings by artist Karen Gallant.

Also new to this edition is a French version of the guide. “We are very pleased as a Council to provide this guide in French as well as English for the first time,” says Kays. The French version of the guide, entitled Aller de l’avant : Guide pratique à l’intention des femmes qui décident de mettre fin à une relation is also available from the Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

Copies of Moving On/Aller de l’avant are free of charge and are available as PDF downloads from the Advisory Council on the Status of Women website at http://www.gov.pe.ca/acsw. Printing partners Kwik Kopy donated additional copies of the guide at no cost, and while supplies last, hard copies are available by request from the Council office at 902-368-4510 or info@peistatusofwomen.ca

Photo: Left-Right: Michelle Jay, Program Coordinator and Diane Kays, Chairperson of the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women review Moving On/Aller de l’avant, the revised and updated 2013 edition of the Council publication.